Tegger wrote:

> Those sites that pull filters apart to see what they look like inside tell
> you absolutely nothing useful at all.

You're wrong. Those cut-apart evaluations tell you a couple of things.

1. They tell you which filters to absolutely avoid due to exceptionally
poor construction.

2. They show the amount of filtering area, which can vary widely.

3. At "http://www.knizefamily.net/minimopar/oilfilters/index.html" he
tests the anti-drainback valves for leakage.

For instance he looks at detail in one filter I use, the one for a lot
of Toyota and Lexus V6 engines, the Toyota 90915 and its after-market
variants. The Toyota brand filter had the largest filtering area, and
the anti-drainback valve, while plastic, did not leak. The Toyota filter
had about 60% more filter area than the Fram, and the Fram
anti-drainback valve leaked.

He doesn't test the jobber filters used by a lot of oil change
franchises, which cost them $1-1.50 each. I know someone that owns a
franchise that does a lot of oil changes, and he keeps Toyota and Honda
OEM filters for his family, and his good customers.

The Toyota filters sell for $4-5 on sale at the dealer. They'res just no
reason to use anything but the Toyota OEM filter, it's not worth the risk.
> 1) Use the correct OEM oil filter sold by your automaker's local dealer.
> 2) Use a major brand-name oil that displays the API starburst.

This is true. Of course there are no major brand oils that don't have
the API Starburst. There are some synthetics that can't meet the API
requirements, such as some of the Amsoil products that have too much
ZDDP, and that could damage your catalytic converter over time, though
of course Amsoil says that this won't happen.